


tell me true

by theseourbodies



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternative narrative structure, Implied Relationships, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 09:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3565502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theseourbodies/pseuds/theseourbodies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their story becomes history, becomes legend. A new story replaces the Tale of the Three Brothers.</p>
<p>Or, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as a bedtime story for the next generation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tell me true

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nyogu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyogu/gifts).



> I wrote this for a dear friend of mine. I hope you enjoy it as much as they did.

There were once three lovers, beloved by their people and each other. Chiefest among the three was rememberance, the memory of the world, he who looks behind. To his left and his right (for though he was most beloved of their people, they were most loved by him, and so they never walked behind him) walked Power, who watched all that they passed, and Wisdom, who looked to the road ahead.

They found themselves walking along the road when a darkness fell. They mistook it for a natural act, and only walked a little faster. Much had befallen them on this road, and so they were vigilant; the company of the other two brought each much delight, however, so they may be forgiven their negligence. Darker and darker it became, and Memory grew worried; he began to see in the darkness familiar traces of an Evil he had once fought.

Power, whose constant need for fighting and the glory that comes with success had been tempered by Wisdom and Memory both, was reluctant to draw his wand. The darkness grew darker still, and for the first time Memory was almost lost to them. Power was still unwilling, despite the growing danger. Wisdom, who held his heart and understood his reluctance, drew out her invisibility cloak and said to them "Come under this cloak, so it may keep you hidden." She knew that they could not fight the Evil yet, as he had learned new powers in his absence from this world.

They walked for a ways well hidden, and the Evil began to seek them in the singleminded way of those that have only one purpose: with no care for those that are caught in the crossfire. Memory, whose family had been taken by the Evil long ago, had only his lovers to watch over; Wisdom knew that, should the Evil seek them out, nothing she now did would save those loved ones not with her. For Power, however, there were many that he counted close to his heart; Memory and Wisdom had settled deep into his bones, but it is no easy thing to turn away from a family you may have brought doom upon.

Though it had found a host in the body that so doggedly pursued Memory, true evil is everpresent. Knowing his weakness, it sank into Power and awoke in him the burning acid of fear and cowardice. When next they stopped, he remained behind. Ignoring the pleas and anger of his lovers, he turned to his ancestral home and left them.

Power had been a watcher of all things that were neither ahead nor behind, and without him Memory and Wisdom struggled to move safely. In tales such as these that tell stories of great things, you must always remember that these doers of great things were people, men and women, as well as heroes. Though she was the greatest of the wise, Wisdom had learned the harm a keen mind and a sharp tongue could do to those she loved. With her lovers she had another kind of knowledge, not of soft things but of softer routes. They loved her for more than her wisdom, and she knew them for the men that they were. So she watched Power leave with a mind gone silent and mournful, unthinking of new strategy or tactical certainty.

Neither she nor Memory could find their former focus. They recognized their potential weakness, and struggled to bring their minds to bear on the path they walked. So focused was Wisdom now on what lay ahead she missed the coming threat sneaking up behind them.

The greatest child of intelligence is Wisdom, but Intelligence gave two daughters to the world; the most celebrated is Madness. Consumed with her love of the Evil, Madness hunted after Memory and Wisdom, silently dogging their steps until, in a moment of frustration and weakness, they threw off the cloak of invisibility and were revealed.

Meanwhile, not far behind the suddenly embattled Memory and Wisdom, Power hunted fretfully. Only upon seeing his family had he realized he was more of a danger to them among them than far away; the Evil would not have sought them if it meant straying this far from his target, and any foes that would come to harm his family would be met with fighters as fierce as he was. His rage and shame burned from him the last of the evil sting of rabid fear and he returned to the road, desperate to find his lovers.

Unprepared and caught unawares, Memory and Wisdom had fallen to Madness when Power came upon them. Memory struggled with the forces the Evil had sent to claim him; disarmed and held down by the weight of Madness, Wisdom struggled against terror and pain. Power knew that it was not because of a fear of Madness, but of being held so helpless, stripped of power she had fought so hard to maintain that Wisdom now faded.

Enraged, he fell to her aid, and together they rose up even stronger than they had been. For as wisdom is often the only thing that can stay a violent hand, so too is power often the only thing to enforce the will of the wise.

Wounded and unwilling to face both Power and a rearmed Wisdom, Madness fled. Memory disarmed the last opponent, and, joyously reunited with Power at last, they moved quicker than ever to the place that Memory had claimed as a home.

But when they arrived it was to find that the Evil had been waiting all along. True darkness fell, and the battle began in earnest. As Power had faced down his own cowardice and fear and Wisdom had fought off Madness, now Memory had to look into his own heart and see it's darkness reflected in his enemy. The Evil was Obsession, the darkness that Power and Wisdom had barely saved Memory from. Now, even their love was not enough, and Memory began to realize that the ending the Evil so desired was inevitable. His history, the history of his people had taught him this.

So into the clutches of the Evil Memory did walk, accompanied not by Power and Wisdom but by the spirits of those that had sacrificed themselves before him. Great was his sorrow, but greater still was his determination. Wisdom had taught him to use the past to look to the future; Power had shown him that strength was born not in the head but in the heart. With them in mind, he stepped up to meet his fate...

...but in stepping to meet the Evil, he had already defeated it. This was not the Evil of his youth. It had diminished itself as it hunted for him, and now he knew that he could face it. Wisdom and Power had given him the best of themselves, and with their gifts he battled the enemy, and with their love he defeated it.

The Evil left the world, but this story is a reminder that true evil may always linger. Remember the lessons that his lovers taught Memory, and live to teach them to lovers of your own.

And that, little wizard, is the story of the lovers and the road.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave feedback and constructive criticism. Thank you for reading!


End file.
